It is well known that sitting hunched over a desk or work station can lead to persistent slouching—bad posture that may cause problems. Bad posture may force a slouching person's chest muscles to tighten, which can cause excessive kyphosis (curvature) of the thoracic spine (upper back). At the same time, postural muscles in the upper back weaken and loosen. As a result, bad posture can have enduring problems that disseminate to other areas of the body. For example, even though an individual may be relatively inactive from day to day, bad posture can result in serious wear-and-tear (sort of speak) on the individual's spine, shoulders, hips, and knees. This is because bad posture may cause the human structure to misalign and weaken, which leads to back and joint pain, reduced flexibility, and compromised muscles. Bad posture may also cause nerve constriction. For example, as the spine curves excessively over time, resulting subluxations can put pressure on the surrounding spinal nerves. Any nerves that may be resultantly pressured or pinched can cause pain at the neck area, back, as well as other areas throughout the body; this is because the spine is essentially a hub connecting nerves from multiple areas of the human body. Typically, those suffering from these maladies tend to limit their mobility and daily exercise (due to weakness, and to avoid further pain), which furthers their weakened state. Accordingly, bad posture may be a source of problems that limit a person's ability to live a healthy lifestyle.
Several methods and devices have been developed over time to address the problems cause by bad posture, including correcting bad posture via specialized garments. Some of these devices may be worn by both male and female users and comprise of complex vests and straps, or bands meant to provide support to the back and core of the wearer. However, many of these devices require the wearer to put on an additional garment that is typically cumbersome and generally uncomfortable to wear. Moreover, the complex nature of these corrective or postural garments make them undesirable to wear from day to day.
For example, some known complex devices include braces for the upper torso that offers posture support. These braces often include bulky components such as shoulder straps and shoulder pads designed to pull the shoulders back thereby straightening the wearer's posture. To improve on the comfort of wearing such devices, many include padding such as shoulder caps or straps that are lined with silicone or some other material that cushion as well as grip the skin at the area of the pectoral muscles or may be designed to cup the shoulders mechanically. One problem with these devices is that these apparatuses typically cover the entire torso, which limits what the wearer can wear from day to day. Another problem is that these devices are often uncomfortable to wear in spite of their designs attempting to improve comfort to the wearer.
Thus, these designs are often particularly undesirable and uncomfortable to wear. Because correcting or at least improving bad posture requires continuous and daily wear, the undesirability of such devices renders them ineffective for improving bad posture—at least for many individuals that end up not wearing these cumbersome devices on a daily basis.
One solution may be to implement a postural garment into a commonly worn garment. It is well known that brassieres are such garments and it is also known that brassiere makers have attempted to incorporate posture-corrective designs into so called postural bras.
For example, there are sports bras designed to enhance posture and increase breast support for women engaging in athletic activities. These devices typically include certain shoulder harnesses that encircle each shoulder and serves to urge them back. One problem with such devices is that they are similarly complex and cumbersome to wear on a daily basis that is outside of the gymnasium. Moreover, sports bras are not typically compatible with all attire and may be perceived as unprofessional—for example if worn in business environments.
As such, these devices do not solve postural problems for day to day wearers not constantly involved in athletic activities. Admittedly, a person could wear such device underneath their regular clothing, but then the individual would have to wear the same device on a daily basis.
In addition to the problems mentioned above with wearers avoiding complex devices that require daily use, a typical bra wearer may not desire to always wear a sport's bra or another specialized brassiere. To address this issue, other devices have been similarly implemented with every-day bras.
For example, some brassieres have been modified for (in addition to providing support and protecting a woman's breasts), helping prevent and correct a tendency of hyper-kyphosis of the back. Such modified brassieres typically include a posterior support component that is integral with the specialized brassiere. The problem with that device is that users must either wear the same device daily, or purchase several of those devices in order to be able to wear a posture corrective device every day. Moreover, wearing such devices precludes a wearer from wearing their favorite brassiere brands, or favorite types of brassieres that a wearer may otherwise choose on a daily basis.
Accordingly, the prior art does not adequately address the persistent problems related to posture-improving devices, particularly posture-improving brassieres. In summation, these problems include but are not limited to: (a) requiring the wearer to put on an additional garment that is typically cumbersome and generally uncomfortable to wear; (b) requiring the wearer to purchase multiple devices; or (c) requiring the wearer to forego wearing their preferred brassieres and typical outfits.
Therefore, there exists a previously unappreciated need for a new and improved brassiere accessory that improves a wearer's posture and does not require a user to wear cumbersome devices, or spend significant resources on additional devices for daily use while having to forego a brassiere of their choosing.
More specifically, there exists a previously unappreciated need for a brassiere accessory that may be worn with virtually any brassier and still provides a support that prevents excessive curvature of the upper back and straightens the back of the user so that the user's posture is improved.
It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.